This pregnancy was the hardest of all and my labor just followed suit. I was suppose to be induced on Sunday January 5th, but that obviously did not happen. I went in for my appointment on Friday morning and I was only dilated to a 1, so Dr. Harter decided to insert the balloon into my cervix. I do V-bac since Tag was C-section, so they do the balloon to help you dilate and made the induction go smoother. I had this done with Tenley and I knew it was going to be a long 2 days because your body starts cramping because you are dilating. Josh told me there was no way I was making it until Sunday, but I figured I would get to endure through the 2 days. I was cramping quite a bit after the insertion, but then I felt better throughout the day. My friend, Christina Sherrin-Helm, had even offered to watch the kids that evening so I could go out to dinner with Josh and his co-workers for Shane's goodbye dinner! I was feeling so good that we ended up going to dinner. I was really sure that I would make it until Sunday because I wasn't having any cramping. At 12:00am the contractions started and they were 10 minutes apart. It was miserable, but I could handle it because I had time to gear up for the next one. I called the hospital at 2:00am and asked them what to do since I live an hour away. The nice nurse told me to make myself comfortable and take a bath. She then said if the balloon falls out then come in. Right after I hung up with her, the balloon fell out. That meant I was at a 4. I woke Josh up and he called Jared Wolfley to come stay with the kids. We got our stuff and left for Vegas. My contractions were still 10 minutes, but about 5 minutes after we left my contractions were only 3 minutes apart. It was a very long drive to Vegas and I have never been in that much pain. There was no time to gear up for the next contraction and I think that is what made it so bad! We finally got to the hospital and I got out of the truck to find out we were at the wrong ER entrance so I had to climb back into the truck, which wasn't easy! We finally got to the right entrance and they were really good and got me right up to labor and delivery. Even though I had already pre-registered they were still making fill out all these forms while I was in great pain. They finally checked me and I was at a 6. They asked if I wanted to do it natural and I said in a very stern tone "NO!!!" The nurse was really nice, but kept saying she didn't know if I would be able to get an ephidural. I cannot explain how bad the pain was, but I kept looking at Josh like "I cannot do this please help me!" I was at an 8 when I was able to get the ephidural. They decided they would let me get the ephidural without getting all my blood work since I hadn't had any problems during my pregnancy. I was so relieved to have the pain gone. I don't know how women do it all natural. I told Josh we are done because I never want to go through that again. I got the epidural around 4:30 or 5:00a.m. and that seemed to slow things down, but I didn't care because the pain was gone. When it was time to push I felt a ton of pressure, so I was really happy I had the epidural. It was different this time because they told to push when I felt like I needed to. With my other babies they told you when to push and when to stop. Once the baby was out, I felt so much better! However, it didn't last long because my placenta wouldn't come out because my uterus was clamping down on it. My doctor had to massage and physically pull it out of me. Even with the epidural it was an uncomfortable process and I just kept thinking how happy I was that I was able to get the epidural! When I first saw Tucker, I thought he looked just like Tag and so did everyone else. It was so wonderful to finally meet him and be able to hold him in my arms! Our hospital stay was so nice. They really didn't bug you all the time like in times past and that was so nice. We were only there for a little over 24 hours and that was so nice. Tucker took to nursing really well, but like all newborns he was tired and didn't want to wake up to eat. He also has a cute little birth mark on his right butt cheek! Josh made the comment that he would never be able to moon someone and get away with it! While we were at the hospital, Seth came to visit and Grandma and Grandpa brought the kids up to meet their new brother! They were all so sweet with him...it was so fun to watch them! We were so thankful for everyone's help and so happy to have little Tucker! We got home on Sunday around 11:30 and it was great to be home! I was excited to have my own bed! Karla had cleaned, did laundry, and made a yummy dinner for us! I was so grateful for all their help and for Jacob coming to relieve Jared until his parents got to the house! My mom and dad got to our house Sunday evening and it was so nice to see them! The kids were so excited that Grammy and Poppy were coming for a whole week! Josh even took the whole week off, so I was feeling so lucky to have everyone there to help! We had a great week and Tucker was such a good baby! He slept and slept and slept! He even was sleeping long stretches at night, which was so nice! While mom was here we took him to his first doctor appointment and got him all scheduled for his circumcision. Mom helped with lots of painting projects while she was here and dad and Josh did lots of outdoor projects. Of course they had to take the kids bowling and for pizza and even to the arcade! We also played some fun Skipbo games, which is Tag's favorite game to play! The kids LOVED it! I was really sad to see them leave, but so grateful they were able to come visit!
